


Deadline

by Scarlett_Montag



Category: Benedict Cumberbatch - Fandom, British Actor RPF, Real Person Fiction, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: Age Difference, Blow Jobs, Current Events, Danger, Drug Use, F/M, Insecurity, Jealousy, Journalism, Love, Masturbation, Middle East, Mystery, News Media, Newspapers, Oral Sex, Romance, Sex, Smut, Suspense, TV News, Threesome - F/M/M, Thriller, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-21
Updated: 2014-06-04
Packaged: 2018-01-25 23:00:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1665674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarlett_Montag/pseuds/Scarlett_Montag
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ellington Grant is a rising star in the field of investigative journalism and combat reporting. She meets a handsome English actor at a star studded party and the two of them embark on a romantic relationship.Everything is going well until she gets in over her head investigating a story that puts not only their relationship on the line, but her life as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kicking The Hornets Nest

**Author's Note:**

> Some of this is inspired by current events but this story is completely fiction.

Somewhere in the Paktia Provience of Afghanistan

 

 My pussy was sopping wet with cum as a pair of fingers thrust in and out of my tight little hole with tremendous force.  We kissed passionately letting our tongues glide together and sucked on each other’s lips. “ Be a good girl and play with those perfect little nipples of yours.”   _God love the way his commands go right to my clit_. I obeyed his commanded and circled my finger around my nipples and arched my back presenting him with my hard nipples. “Good girl.” He gingerly bit and kissed my breast while my pussy dripped with pleasure. He twisted his fingers inside me and gave one good thrust upwards hitting my cervix forcing me to cry out.

 

“OH! I’m going to come again!”

 

The most deliciously devious smile widened across his face. “I think I found what I was looking for.” He enthusiastically began to pulse on my cervix. “Come for me.” My body tensed up and I delivered the most earth shattering orgasm. He slowly removed his fingers from my slit dragging a long string of come with them. He marveled at the sight of my come dripping down his fingers before slipping one finger in his mouth and savoring every last drop of me. “I love the way you come for me.” Just as he was about to enjoy his other finger he caught me staring at his finger and licking my lips. “Ooohh you naughty…naughty  girl you want a taste?”   I bit my lip feeling so kinky I nodded and he and brushed his finger on my lips coating them with come then hungrily kissing me licking and sucking every bit of come off my mouth.  “You taste amazing.”

 

Before I could even respond he buried his face between my thighs and pursed his soft lips against my pussy. He deeply kissed and sucked on the lips of my wet warm slit. His firm tongue dipped inside me licking me inside and out. His tongue curled against my swollen clit sending waves of desire all through my body. He lifted his head up and smiled with pride as he wiped cum from his face. “You want my cock?” He asked in a low voice as he circled my entrance with the tip of his big thick cock. 

 

“Fuck me _Please_!” I begged, My entire body was quivering with ecstasy begging to be fucked.

 

“ Ellington you’re such a naughty girl.” His thick throbbing cock thrust into me stretching my tight cunt causing me to scream out. 

I bolted awake and realized I has fallen asleep in the passenger seat of the rental car.

 

“Bout time you woke up. How the hell can you sleep under the circumstances?”

 

I shook my head and tried to regain some composer. “I’ve been running on adrenaline since we arrived, I was bound to nap sometime. How long was I out? I rubbed my face, and stared out at the window at Afghanistan’s depressing landscape. 

 

“Twelve minuets tops.” _I can’t even nap for ten min without having a naughty dream._ I thought to myself in shame. _Shit! My panties are wet. Really wet….did I make myself come?_

 

“I can’t believe I let you fuckin’ talk me into this shit.” Drew grumbled as he shifted the gears and accelerated the armored Toyota Land cruiser. “You know the US military created a map color coding all the roads in Afghanistan. Green is safe, red means dangerous, and black means you’re fucked. Guess what color road this is?”

 

I was far too focused on my discomfort to even listen to him.  When in Afghanistan, I always wore a traditional black abaya out of cultural respect. Today the layers I had on underneath were causing me to sweat. . “It’s not much farther, we should be back in Kabul before sundown. “ I said as I unwrapped my green and black scarf from my hair to let some air on my face and cracked my window.

 

“ We better be back before sundown! The Taliban takes over theses roads at night! And roll up your damn window!” He barked in his heavy Brooklyn accent. “What’s the point in renting a car with bulletproof windows if you’re just gonna roll em’ down?!”

 

 _He has a point._ I rolled up my window with no arguments and turned down the heat, which had been blasting at its highest level.

 

I’m a 26 year old journalist for the New York Herald. I travel to many conflict-ridden parts of the world investigating different issues as thoroughly possible to pen articles and  gather photos.  I investigate and write extensively on foreign policy, globalization, terrorism, crime, drugs, economics, Latin America and the Middle East. I’ve traveled to Iraq, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Gaza, Iran, Somalia, Bolivia, Mexico Columbia, Brazil, Haiti, and now Afghanistan.

 

I’ve been in Afghanistan for 15 days working on a story about illegal arms trading, and linking the countries multibillion-dollar heroin industry to the growing insurgency.   We had been meeting with opium farmers, warlords, police officers, and Russian gangsters looking to score bulk heroin for cheap all week.  The drugs were being traded for military grade weaponry and I was just inches away to getting the last piece of the story.  I needed evidence, which proved that a shady U.S. private military firm was helping move the weapons and the drugs across the border. The evidence was with a family of opium farmers in Gardēz. Not only were they willing to speak with me, but they had the evidence to back up their claims.

 

Unfortunately, Gardēz was located in what the US military considered a “Denied Area”. It took me several hours to convince Drew to drive us up there. Finally he agreed, and rented an armored car In Kabul and set on the 80-mile journey to Gardēz.

 

“ Elle, I love you to death, but this is without a doubt _the_ worst idea you’ve ever had.  Four journalist were abducted by the Taliban on this very road back in November yet you got us out here _without military escort_ like a couple of assholes, just waiting to get shot over some hunch you got.”

 

Andrew was 29-year-old former U.S. marine.  He was hired by The Herald as my research assistant but his real job was keep me out of trouble since I often put my own safety on the backburner when chasing a story. He was 6’0, short blond hair and brown eyes with a built upper body. He exhibited his military discipline in almost all of his behaviors even though he was no longer in the service. His work ethic and years of experience in combat zones made him the best research assistant. Since working together had become very close having experienced a lot of violence and trauma together.

 

The long roads snaked through the lonely snowcapped mountains. We passed old soviet tanks and military hummers that had been left to rust since the soviet war in Afghanistan ended. We could tell we were traveling deeper and deeper into the denied area, as we passed several bombed out North Atlantic Treaty Organization convoys and gun shoots rang out in the distance. We finally made it to our destination.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 

After several hours of interviews, collecting evidence, taking photos, and tours village, we were informed that it was in our best interest to leave, as it would be dark soon. We thanked the family for their time, exchanged contact information and began the three-hour drive back to Kabul.

 

“Can you believe this? We’ve got security footage of Blue Ridge Security employees dropping of a shipment of Illegal guns and picking up a crate of heroin! And we only had to pay them $800 US dollars for the tape!”

 

I was extremely pleased with our visit and my mind was already working on the next aspects of my story.

 

“I cannot wait to get back to New York and contact Blue Ridge for comments. This is going to be a fantastic story! I mean it’s going to push the issue of military privatization and federal oversight …..

 

“Elle?” Drew interrupted in a calm yet serious voice. “Something’s up.  Look in your side view mirror, see that truck behind us?”

 

“ Yeah it’s been behind us for awhile now.”

 

“I saw it three times on the way up to Gardēz, and here it is again. I’m willing to bet I saw it parked on the street when we were at the car rental lot”

 

There was no point in asking if he was sure it was the same truck. Drew was incredibly vigilant, and never wrong about this sort of thing. If he ever suspected we were in immediate danger I believed him without question. 

 

I took a deep breath to try and remain calm. “Taliban?”

 

“I’m not sure.”

 

I pulled at my legal pad quickly began writing down every detail I could make out about the vehicle and the two figures inside the cab. “ It looks like two people in the front, both male, short hair …I think one is white. Can you see a driver or passenger?”

 

“Not really.” And with that he increased his speed. I unlocked my cell phone and keyed in 119, Afghanistan’s police emergency number.

 

Drew tightened his grip on the wheel.  “Shit they are speeding up.” Suddenly the headlights of the mysterious truck began flashing brightly.  “Oh Fuck! Elle hold on tight!” He quickly accelerated and speed off down the empty dark highway with the truck right on our tail. As soon as I picked up my phone to press the call button…..CRASH…..our vehicle went flying forward sending my phone onto the floor.  ”FUCK HE’s TRYING TO FORCE US OF THE ROAD!” Drew began to swerve to get out of its path but it rammed us again! I could feel my heart beating faster and adrenaline pumping through my body as I quickly located my phone between my feet and tried to call for help.  CRASH! The  truck began to blare it’s horn and crashed into us again. Drew began to swerve and with one final ram from  behind ,we began to spin out of control crashing into a concrete side barrier. The horn of the mysterious truck blared past us as it disappeared into the darkness.

 

“Elle Are you alright?!”

 

“Yes”. “ I said trying to catch my breath. “You?”

 

“Fine” He swallowed hard as he started to collect his thoughts. “ That was not Taliban. If it was we sure as fuck would be in the back of that truck with a black bags over our heads right now.”

 

I nodded in agreement between my heavy breathing.  “ If they wanted us dead, they would have dragged us out of the car and put a bullet between our eyes to make sure.” I reached over to touch his arm, which was bruised, but he shook  his head and mouthed ‘its fine’.

 

“Somebody just went through a shit load of trouble to scare the hell out of  us.”

 

“It worked!” I responded in all seriousness

 

He turned his attention to the car, which had slid into the barrier on the driver side. Thankfully the car started right up.  “We need to get out of here before the real Taliban actually shows up.”

 

“ Drew……..I don’t know what the hell we’ve stumbled on, but we’ve made someone very nervous.”

 


	2. Three Days Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellington get's invited to the star studded party for a film, while her sister Leah decides to play match maker.

It was _7:58 on a cold_  Monday morning in January. A gush of sharp cold wind forced me to pull my heavy black pea coat tighter around my body as I made my way towards The New York Herald’s office building in Rockefeller Plaza. I had to fight my way onto the crowded elevator and finally made it up to the 32nd floor and heaved the big glass doors open and walked quickly to my office.  I was just getting settled in when I got a text message from my sister Leah.

 

Leah: Lunch today at our usual place?

 

Me: I’m there.  1:00?

 

Leah: Perfect! 

 

I picked up my office phone and buzzed my assistant Evan. A few moments later a petit, young hipster entered my office. He wore dark jeans with a button down green shirt, a bowtie, coordinating cardigan and hipster black frame glasses.

 

“ Mornin’ Evan. How was your weekend?”

 

“ It was fantastic. Chris asked me to move in with him!”  He was beaming with excitement so I knew he was over the moon about this. “We looked at places all weekend and we found a cute one bedroom one bath in SoHo.”

 

“Awe congratulations! How exciting! ” He and Chris had been dating for a year and I’d never seen Evan happier. _I’ll need to get them a house-warming gift._ “Onto business. ” I declared.

 

He took his seat in the wingback chair in front of my desk and clicked across his company iPad.

 

“ CNN called and they would like you to appear on Anderson Cooper 360 tonight as a contributor. They’re running a story on the recent developments in Gaza and want your expertise. It’s a tight six min segment, you’ll need to be there by 7:00pm.”

 

“Anything for Anderson. Confirm it."

 

“ Maryann from Columbia House Publishing called while you were in Afghanistan and said…………”  He loved to build anticipation when he had good news.

 

“They loved your final draft! They think it’s going to be a best seller!”

 

“ Whaaaat!!!” I high fived Evan from across my desk. I had been working on a political/social science fiction book about globalization and it’s impact on terrorism for almost two years. I was ecstatic that It was finally ready to be published.

 

“They want to improve the title, but overall they love it and want it on the shelves by June. Maryann swears you’re the next Thomas Friedman. “

 

I scoffed at the notion. “I don’t know about that. What else?”

 

“Last but not least, you have a 11:00am meeting with the legal team. They are fuming over your side trip into a denied area.” I should have seen this coming a mile away. Whenever I got myself into even the slightest bit of danger, I had to suffer thought a tedious lecture about how my behavior put the paper at a seriously liability risk. Ironically, the same risky behaviors they scold me for lead me to stories that make groundbreaking headlines, increases the papers readership, and put me in the spot light.

 

I dismissed Evan and focused on researching Blue Ridge Security until it was time to have my hand slapped by the legal team, then headed to my sister’s favorite lunch spot.

 

“ I would like the duck and pineapple red curry please.”

 

“Would you like that prepared mild or spicy?” Asked the young waitress.

 

“Spicy. Leah are you sure you’re ready to order?” _Why does she take forever to look at the menu? She always orders a plate of lettuce._

 

“ummmm…yeah. I’m going to have the cashew nut chicken. No no no, the drunken noodles with shrimp.”

 

“Okay. I’ll bring you guys some more water.” Just as she stepped away from the table, Leah changed her mind. “ Excuse me! I’m so sorry but can I change my order to a Caesar salad? Please put the dressing and the cheese on the side, no crotons, and no anchovies.” _See, a plate of lettuce._

 

After our server topped off our water glasses we started to catch up.

 

“So how is your new job going?” Leah was a linguistics expert at Columbia University. She is taking a short sabbatical at the university, to serve as a dialect coach for a new Tim Burton movie that’s being shot in the city.

 

“It’s going extremely well! The University is thrilled that I’m on assignment. They are putting so much pressure on us professors to, publish, and lecture, and speak at conferences….anything to gain more professional notoriety in their field so I really needed this. And, Tom Hiddleston, the British actor I’m working with is extremely dedicated.”

 

I didn’t recognize the name. “ What are some of the things he’s been in?”

 

“I’m sure you know him, he was Loki in Thor. The Avengers? War Horse?”

 

“Oh yeah I saw that movie! The one about racing career of that horse during the great depression? He was really good in that movie, I never would have guessed him to be British!

 

“Elle…that was ‘Seabiscuit’ staring Toby Maguire!” She said laughing. “ Well anyway, he takes my lessons and exercises very seriously. You will never guess who else is in the movie?! Benedict Cumberbatch!”

 

“Oh I’ve heard of him.”  No I hadn’t. I love a good movie, but hardly ever paid attention to the name or the face behind the character. “I only work with Tom, but Benedict stops in to see him all the time. They are both incredibly nice, and down to earth. That reminds me! There is a big pre-production on Friday, come as my guest.”

 

“Sounds fun but what about Grey? Wouldn’t your husband be your first choice?”

 

“He’s going out to Oyster Bay for the weekend to visit his mom with the baby and I’m not about to stuffer an entire weekend with Rachel criticizing me, and complaining that I’m not Jewish!” Leah and her mother in law had a very tense relationship. I was actually relived to hear she was staying in the city instead of suffering a weekend of madness.

 

“Hell yeah then! It will be a girls weekend!”

 

Friday

 

I was deep into my research when Evan knocked on my door.

 

“Sue wants to see you.”

 

 _Ugh! What does that bitch want now!? “_ Did she say what it was about?”

 

“No she just said she wanted to see you right away.”

 

 _Awe hell._ I saved my work and made the long trip to the other side of the building. Sue Nugyen was all of 5’1 but a force to reckon with and the senior news editor and operations manager of The New York Herald. She was more interested in managing the papers politics than reporting the facts and I found this egregious. She fired veteran journalist and replaced them with inexperienced, credulous hacks, she could easily convince to twist facts. Do I trust Sue? Hell no. Do I question her integrity? Absolutely. Do I like Sue? That is completely beside the point. She is my boss, and I have to respect her.  

 

She waved me into her office from the other side of her glass door as soon as she aw me coming.

 

“Don’t sit, this will be brief. Cancel your plans for tonight .” She said assertively, as she handed me a small envelope.

_Umm excuse me? Did I hear her correctly?_

 

“You need to represent the paper at this party.” I opened the envelope to find a quirky gothic themed invitation. “ Tim Burton is filming a new movie in town. Something about a British serial killer who eludes the police in the UK and starts killing up a storm in Manhattan under a new identity. Anyway, there is a big party on Friday to kick off the production at the Four Seasons.”

 

“ They invited me personally?” I asked curiously, since I don’t write about entertainment, style, or anything related to pop culture.

 

“Eh heh…no darling” she said smugly as she pushed the bangs of her bob out of her face.“The invitation was intended for the head of entertainment but I thought it was best if you attended instead.”

 

“I’ve already been invited. My sis…..”

 

“You’re already going?! Oh, this is just perfect. I managed to get a peek at the guest list. There will be at least 1,000 networking opportunities there for The Herald. The president of Time-Warner cable RSVPed, the senior director of CNN will be there, the talent booker for “The Daily Show” is attending, the senior editor for New York Magazine will be there, the producer for “The View” will be there, I think I even heard Jimmy Fallon is going to be there tonight……”

 

_If it’s so damn important, why the hell aren’t you going?_

 

“That all sounds so amazing!” I said hoping to sound as sincere as possible.  “But I must be honest, cinema is not my area of expertise. Don't you think it would better serve the paper if someone who is more knowledgeable about the film industry, and pop culture represent the paper at this party? I was also hoping to attend this event in a personal capacity instead of ……..

 

“eh eh eh…..” She was holding her palm up to my face, which was her way of saying shut up. _This bitch……_ “Surely by now you know how this works. You’re the face of the paper. People associate you with The Herald and The Herald with you. They want to see the pretty southern bell, with the Pulitzer Prize, who writes all those edgy articles, and does sassy commentary on their favorite news programs.”

 

“ I understand. And let me just say that it has been a privileged ……”  She could hear the protest in my voice and started to get irritated.

 

“Oh for Christ sake Ellington.” She was now talking in a calm yet curt tone. “You’re going and you’re going to make sure you hit all important people.  Be your fun, charming, outgoing self and this will be easy. A car service will pick you up at 8:00 ….now ….good bye. Close my door behind you.” And with that it was over.

 

Across town in lower Manhattan, Leah had just finished up her lesson with Tom and hung up the phone with Ellington. _I wish she didn’t have to work at the party. Oh well, what can you do?_ I was still packing up my materials when there was a light knock on the door. “Come in! Oh hi Benedict, if you’re looking for Tom he got called away to wardrobe…some costume emergency.”

 

“ Oh bugger! We were going to have lunch together. Well Leah, would you like to join me since my date stood me up?” He joked.

 

“I’d love to.” We made small talk about the weather, and the film while I packed the rest of my things. Once I was ready we left the rented office building, which served at the general office for the film and headed down the streets of Battery Park.

 

“This pub is fantastic, most authentic fish n chips I’ve ever had on this side of the pond.” We placed our orders and began enthusiastically talking about the film. We were both extremely excited about the production and loved watching Tim Burton work.

 

“My husband is so jealous that I get to hang out with you. He is _such_ a huge fan of ‘Sherlock’.”

 

“Is he coming to the party tonight? I’d love to meet him.”

 

“No, he is going out of town for the weekend, so I’ll be bringing my sister.”

 

“Oh that’s nice. Is she older or younger?”

 

“We’re the same age.” The waitress brought our food to the table and I began going through my bag looking for some hand sanitizer. In my search for the sanitizer, I found several baby toys.

 

“I take it you have children?” Ben laughed as a pushed the toys back in my bag having located my hand sanitizer.

 

“I have a two year old named Declan, and he loves putting his toys in my bag!” And me being one of those mothers…I pulled out my phone and started showing him pictures. When I clicked over to a picture of Declan and Ellington on the beach, I notice his eyes widened right away. “That’s my sister Ellington, she’s coming with me to the party.”

 

“This is your sister?” He asked with a bit of curiosity in his voice "Not much resemblance" he joked. 

 

“Technically we’re stepsisters, but we never liked that term even as little girls.” I explained. “ When I tell people I have a sister who is the same age as me, they are always expecting a twin. I love seeing how they react when they meet her for the first time.” I clicked over to another picture of her. _He defiantly likes what he sees._ “She’s a journalist for the New York Herald. She’s sort of like an investigative reporter/ war correspondent. She was the youngest person to ever win a Pulitzer Prize up until last year. If you ever watch any of the national news networks like CNN, MSNBC, or FOX News Network, she always providing commentary.” _I hope I did not sound like I was trying to push her onto him…even though I was._

 

“I hope I get to meet her at the party.” _Oh I will make sure you do!_


	3. Cocktails On The Rooftop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellington attends a party where she meets a very handsome Englishman and gets some new information about the truck that ran her and Drew off the road in Afghanistan.

I styled my long silky black hair with warm chestnut highlights in big lose curls that hung down my back. _Now for the hard part, what to wear?_ I must have stood in front of my full length mirror and held up two dozen size eight dressed against my hourglass 5’10 frame. I finally decided on a fitted long sleeve black lace dress that stopped just above my knee. It had a small, modest open back area that showed off my smooth light chocolaty brown skin.I did a smoky eye with some dark eye make-up and brushed a thin layer of bronzer/blush over my high cheekbones and a painted a nude gloss on my full lips.I finished off my ensemble with a large red and black snakeskin Prada clutch bag and matching platform pumps. After one last inspection in the mirror, I was ready to go.

 

I finally made it to the party on the rooftop of the Four Seasons hotel. It was a cold January night but a climate-controlled tent had been set up. Inside was like an exotic winter wonderland with blue and white lights, fake snow, ice sculptures, white leather furniture, and large hanging snowflakes.

 

I as soon as I checked my coat, my sister Leah came bouncing up to me, already buzzed with a drink in hand.

 

“You look hot!” I complimented. Her strawberry blond hair was pull up in a tidy high top bun, and she wore a copper colored metallic on shoulder cocktail dress that looked fantastic against her ivory skin.

 

“Thanks sissy so do you! I’m sorry your boss is turning this into a networking event for you. What a bitch.”

 

“Girl tell me about it!” I said taking a glass of champagne off the  tray of a server walking by. “She actually made a list of people I must get face time with!” After several minutes of complaining I realized it was not getting the job done any faster so I got to work.

 

At least three hours had gone by and I was speaking with the last person on Sue’s list, the producer from “The View”. He was very pleasant and our discussion was incredibly engaging but I was starving and dying for a drink. When I saw an opening to excuse myself, I took it and tried not to run for the bar.

 

I ordered a pomegranate martini and pulled my iPhone from my clutch and checked my email. It was a horrible habit but I could never seem to unplug myself from my work. Before I left Afghanistan, Drew and I reach out to local police officer named Ahmed, who seemed concerned about our terrifying experience with the mysterious truck on the highway. I hadn’t heard from him in a few days, so was surprised to see an email from him. I was struggling open the email, and when I finally got it open, I discovered a formatting glitch had made the email incredibly hard to read. I was focus on translating the email when a charming British accent interrupted my concentration.

 

“You seem bored.” I chuckled and looked up to find an incredibly handsome man standing next to me ordering himself a drink.

 

“I’m having a great time but I can never resist checking my work email.”

 

“Even at a party on a Friday night? You’re extremely dedicated.”

 

“For me, this event is more like work, cleverly disguised as a party.”

 

He laughed. “May I ask what you do for a living?” The bartender sat his drink down and front of him and he thanked him.

 

“Why don’t you take a guess?” I asked while taking a sip of my martini. _This is going to be fun._

 

He let out a cute flirty chuckle. “ Alright then, but let’s make this interesting. If I guess correctly you’ll dance with me?”

 

“Alright, fair enough.”

 

“Hmmm.” He rubbed his hand in his reddish blond beard, which was neatly trimmed. As he was thinking I could not help but notice how handsome he was. His eyes were so warm and innocent. It was almost as if they were inviting me to stare into them all night to figure out if they were blue or green. Maybe grey?

 

“Well, my first thought is you’re an actress, but I think I’m going to guess fashion model?”

 

“Come on, a model?”

 

 “You’re stunningly beautiful, tall, and you have designer bag.” He said pointing to red Prada clutch the rested on the counter between us. “ It seemed like I good guess.”

 

 “Thank you for the complement, but I’m not a model. How bout a give you a second guess?” _This really is fun. “_ I’ll give you some hints. My job requires me to travel, I write and on my most recent assignments I’ve had to utilize both Dari and Pashto.”

 

He took a sip of his drink “ I’m feeling the pressure because I really want that dance.” His voice was so elegant yet playful.  He was very tall, and he was dressed in a sharp dark blue suit. He lifted his enormous hands and began to count off all the clues I gave him on his long slender fingers. _I bet he has made some women very happy with those fingers._

 

“You said: writing, travel, and Dari which I’m thinking is Persian. I have no idea what Pashto is but I assume it’s another Middle Eastern dialect; I’m also going to assume you live and work here in Manhattan. Hmmm, I you could be a writer, or you work with the United Nations. I’m going to say you work for the United Nations.” 

“ I’m sorry ”I said with a smile. “ You should have gone with writer, I’m a news correspondent for The New York Herald.”

 

“ I was so close!”  He playfully bowed his head in defeat.

 

I tucked my hair behind my ear and extended my hand.

 

“I’m Ellington Grant.”

 

“Tom Hiddleston. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

 

The name set a flash of recognition off in my brain. “ Oh, you’re Tom?! You know my sister Leah Levi. She is the dialect expert you’ve been working with. She has said many great things about you.” _She never mentioned how gorgeous he was!_

_“_ Leah is your sister _?”_ He seemed curious, probably about the fact that Leah and I obviously do not share the same racial background.“I just can’t get over the resemblance between the two of you, it’s uncanny.” He had the most amazing smile spread across his face.

 

“I know! People mistake us for twins all the time.” I joked back. _“_ I know you lost our little game but, I’m hoping you might still be in the mood for that dance?”

 

“I would love to.” 

 

He stuck out his elbow and escorted me to the dance floor. As soon as we stepped onto the dance floor “Happy” by Pharell started playing. To my surprise he was a great dancer with some serious moves. He really exposed his playful side by breaking out some super corny moves just to make me laugh.  We clapped and sang along to the lyrics, and things started to heated up a little bit when “Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke came on. Everybody descended onto the dance floor, leaving it very crowded but we didn’t mind at all.  He inched up behind me, and I gently swayed my hips against him while his hands found there way to my waist as we sang along.

 

After a few more songs, he pulled me off the dance floor and over to the lounge area, where we found and empty love seat tucked in the corner giving us a little bit of privacy. He sat considerably close to me and with the smell of his sophisticated spicy warm cologne I was not complaining.

 

“So, you mentioned you’re a journalist. What do you write about?”

 

I crossed my long legs and caught his eye wondering over to the hem of my dress, which rose and exposed a little bit of my thigh. “War, terrorism, foreign policy, economics, poverty, sometimes environmental issues. They often overlap each other. For example, last year I did an in dept analysis arguing that climate change is fueling the civil war in Sudan. The increasing temperature is causing environmental degradation, and triggering massive population resettlements.”

 

 “You must travel some incredibly dangerous places?” He asked while sipping his dink.

 

“Sometimes. Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan…I know it sounds crazy but I try to get as close to the danger as possible, that's usually where I find my story.”

 

 “You’re incredibly brave.”

 

“That’s certainly one word for it.” I laughed “Most people consider me insane.” He laughed and what an adorable laugh it was. “Honestly I don’t consider myself brave. I often find myself writing about incredible people who are risking their lives every day, fighting for basic human rights. They wake up every day accepting the realty that they could be seriously hurt or never see their families again, all in hopes of bringing about change. Honestly, sometimes they are risking their lives for the most basic things that most people take for granted. Those people are truly brave. I’m just a journalist trying to write about these incredible people without getting hurt in the process.”

 

 He paused for a moment as if he were taking in my comment. “So what I’ve learned about you so far is that: you’re beautiful, intelligent, brave and humble.”

 

I started blushing and he noticed right away. It seemed to please him.

 

“you’re enjoying making me blush aren’t you?” I asked trying desperately not to sound like a smitten teenager.

 

“Very much, and I’m just getting started. You’re smile is incredible, and that southern gentility in your voice is absolutely enchanting.”

 

I was now blushing even more. “You have a good ear.”

 

“Your sister is an amazing coach, a bit tough, but very good. She has taught me well on the subject of phonetics, cultural and social linguistics. I’m starting to analyze accents more. You know you and your sister are extremely different.”

 

“Really? I said sarcastically with a sweet smile thinking he was referring to our different racial backgrounds. He quickly figured out what I meant and laughed.

 

“Hehe no, not that. I meant your accent. There is this elegance in the way you enunciate your words, it’s aristocratic. That mixed with your light southern accent is very enduring. Your sister doesn’t have that southern touch.”  

 Since I moved to New York, I’ve always tried to downplay my southern heritage. Nobody will take you seriously north of the Mason-Dixon line if you sound like just twirled out of the ‘Gone With the Wind’. I loved being from the south but it’s not exactly known for intellect, and we have a reputation for being...well…belligerents.

 

“I was born and raised in Virginia so I have a bit of a southern accent. Leah and her mother Christina, my stepmother, are form Michigan which is in the Midwest, near the great lakes.”

 

“I know where Michigan is.” He said with a cute smirk. _Damn it!_ _Did that come of as snobbish? Why did I just assume he didn’t know where Michigan was?!_ “Oh I’m so sorry. I was not trying to be smug.  I just thought….”

 

“It’s okay. I was not offended.” He put his large hand on mine and gently rubbed it reassuringly. “ I actually filmed a movie in Detroit Michigan.”

 

“What was it called?”

 

“ ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’, It’s about these two vampires. My character, Adam, was a depressed underground musician. He is reunited with his lover, and they have this wonderful romance until her wild sister shows up to visit.”

 

“That sounds intriguing. I’m sorry to say I haven’t seen it…. yet”

 

As he talked more about the film, I just could not help but notice  how sexy he was. He was very tall and he looked totally dapper in his suit and button down white dress shit. His thick blondish curls were styled very neatly and I wanted nothing more than to run my fingers through them.

 

“So what do you think?”

 

“I’m sorry what were you asking?” I asked snapping back to life.

 

He smiled and flirty nudged his knee against mine “I was asking about your opinion on the desolation of Detroit but, your mind seems to be elsewhere.” He had a sexy wicked grin on his face. H _e caught me dazing off into his good looks._

 

I was bushing like crazy and the coy smile on my face only further excited him. “Well, honestly, I’ve been trying to figure out what color your eyes are. Every time I look at them I see a different color.”

 

He laid his arm on the back of the couch. “I’m not sure I want to tell you. I think I want you to keep looking at me with that beautiful smile until you figure it out. Even if it takes all night.”

 

And at that moment I had to reach for my drink on the coffee table in front of us. “You’re trouble.” I said while taking a sip of my drink. “I bet you got a lot of girls I trouble with their parents when you were younger.”

 

 “And I’ll bet, you had boys wrapped around your finger when you were younger.”

 

Before I could respond, a young man in a grey suit who Tom introduced as his publicist Luke, needed to steal him away. “Now _I’m_ working. I have to go meet some important people, but promise me you won't leave without saying goodbye?”

 

 _My God! His smile is killer._ “ I promise”. He got up and followed Luke, while I went to find Leah.

 

“THERE YOU ARE! I’ve been looking for you!” She excitedly grabbed me by the arm and rushed me off to the bathroom, which was surprisingly empty. I had no idea what was going on but I could not help but laugh at her enthusiasm. “Leah I…” She was so excited I could not get a word out.

 

“I’m so happy I get to tell you this!” Her voice was so giddy it was like she had reverted back to a 15-year-old girl.“Benedict Cumberbatch wants to meet you. I even caught him checking you out a few times while you were talking with that woman from New York Magazine!"

 

 “ Wait who are we talking about?”

 

“The actor! He is the star of ‘Sherlock’?” She searched my face for some sign of recognition. ‘Star Trek’, ‘ 12 Years A Slave’?

 

“I’m still drawing a blank.” I said pitifully knowing this would let her down

 

“ Ugh……why am I not surprised? I’m seriously going to need you to get a life outside of work. I showed him your picture earlier today at lunch and he practically lit up!” She took my clutch and dumped my make up onto the counter.  “I’m your sister and because I love you dearly and you desperately need to get fucked, I’m going to introduce you to him.” 

 

“Leah?!” She was right, I hadn’t had sex in over a year. My va jay jay is probably so tight it could crack a walnut.

 

“ Shhh…pout your lips. Let me touch up your lips” While I was sure Leah was being overly dramatic, this was bringing back nostalgic memories of all the fun times we had doing each others make-up before school dances and dates growing up. “You have Angelina Jolie lips. I’ve always been jealous of them.” She confessed as she ran some lipgloss over my bottom lip.

 

“Girl stop….I’m hating on your legs as we speak. You’ve always looked so much better in shorts.”

 

“I’ll trade my legs for your ass.”

 

We laughed at each other then she began to school me on ‘Sherlock’ which according to her is so good it put the American Sherlock Holmes show,  'Elementary' to shame.

 

“You’re too much right now. He is just a guy you work with.”

 

“ A guy I work with, who thinks you’re hot.”

 

After she was satisfied with her make-up touch up, she led me through a crowed of people and over to the lounge area I just left with Tom. She introduced me to a couch full of people, lastly Benedict Cumberbatch, who slid over and made room for me to sit next to him.

 

“ Benedict Cumberbatch, I have to say your name is very stylish.”

 

“Not a single person has ever referred to my name as stylish. I usually have to defend it because people it's very posh or snoobish.”

 

“Oh my God, that’s practically the story of my life! My full name is Ellington Lloyd Grant IV.”

 

He laughed. “That has a very upper-crust and masculine ring to it.”

 

“I know, and some people come down on me so badly for it.”

 

“I can relate completely. They never stop and think, ‘he didn’t name myself for Christ sake’.”

 

“Exactly!  Because of my name, and the way I grew up, people automatically assume I’m a rich snob. I’ve never ever considered my family to be wealthy, and I’ve meet some truly wealthy people who I consider to be posh and snobby, and I don’t think I’m anything like them.”

 

“Finally! Someone who understands! I spent a gap year teaching English in  Tibet, but people seem to ignore that focus on the fact went to a prestigious boarding school as a child.”

 

I found Benedict a complete delight to talk to. We talked about each others careers, hobbies and cultural differences between the US and the UK. He was incredibly articulate, and very smart.He was a little flirty, and with his rich opulent voice my ovaries were ready to melt!  It was getting late, and Ben informed me that he had to call it a night, and had a very busy day the next day. We exchanged numbers just before he left and I went to find Leah.

 

“How did it go?!” She looked like she was about to burst with excitement.

 

“He is very attractive, perfect gentleman, we actually had quite a bit in common, but I’m not sure he is as interested in me as you might think.”

 

“Oh well I tried.” Leah introduced me to a few of her new friends that she made and we had a great time cutting up on the dance floor. I hadn’t seen Tom anywhere and just assumed that he had left the party. _Probably with some other girl. Attractive men like him never leave parties like this alone._ Leah and I decided we were ready to go and as I was waiting in line at the coat check, and familiar hand brushed my shoulder.

 

“Tom! I thought you had left.” I couldn’t lie I was very excited to see him.

 

“Luke wanted to introduce me to some of the studio mangers, at the hotel bar downstairs. It took so much longer than expected. Are you leaving already?” He asked almost pouting.

 

“Yeah, it’s after 1:00.”

 

“Oh no! don’t tell me your coach turned into a pumpkin?!” _He is so cute!_ I was now at the coat check window, and he took my ticket from my hand and retrieved my coat for me and helped me into it.

 

“I really enjoyed meeting you tonight.”

 

“The pleasure was all mine.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and smiled. “Would it be alright if I called you sometime?”

 

“I would love that.” _I hope I did not sound desperate._ He keyed my number into his phone, and then rang my phone so I could save his.

 

He slipped his hand around mine, and squeezed it. “I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk more.”

 

“Don’t be sorry, I really had a great time.” 

  

Leah now joined us. “Tom, I haven’t seen you all night! I was assumed you didn’t come! I see you’ve meet my sister Ellington.”

 

“We chatted a bit earlier in the night. I was telling her what an amazing dialect coach you are.”

 

“Awe thanks! But if you think flattery will make me go easier on you, you’re dead wrong!”

 

Tom laughed. “ I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He then turned to me and gave me a tiny kiss on my cheek. “I hope to see you soon. Have a safe trip home.”

 

“Goodnight Tom.” _I really hope I don’t look like a love struck teenager on her first date!_

“See you Monday Leah.” The hugged each other goodbye and we took the elevator down to the lobby. As soon as the elevator doors rolled shut, Leah started the interrogation.

 

“Okay what was that all about? Did you guys hit it off?! Did you give him your number? Wait, what about Ben??!”

 

I was blushing and excited. “Leah I can’t believe you never told me how attractive he was! He is sooo cute, and funny and playful! I had a great time meeting him.”

 

“I can’t believe this…one night out and you get Benedict Cumberbatch’s and Tom Hiddelston’s attention. Women are going to hate you. I hope this doesn’t make things awkward for them at work.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Elle they are friends.” _Awe hell.Why me?_ If I'm being honest with myself, I was not looking for love and even though I thought Ben was great, there was something about Tom. Just thinking about him made me smile. 

Once we made it to my apartment Leah passed out on the couch right away. I changed into something more comfortable, and began checking my email. I couldn’t read Ahmed’s email on my phone, so I hoped I would have better luck on my Macbook, and I did. The email was in Dari with a photo attachment of the truck which he found abandon at an old service station. It said he had located the truck he believed to have run us off the road based on my description and plate numbers.  The next line I read sent a chill down my spine. It was a military grade vehicle registered with Blue Ridge Security and that his boss instructed him to drop the investigation entirely. I got a little nervous.

 

I clicked the forward email option

 

To: [A.Mitchell@NewYorkHerald,com](mailto:A.Mitchell@NewYork?Herald,com)

From: [E.Grant@NewYorkHerald.com](mailto:E.Grant@NewYorkHerald.com)

Subject: FWD: Truck investigation

 

Drew, 

 

Something tells me this story goes much deeper than we thought. 

 

Elle 

 

 

I opened a new email, and addressed it to Ahmed. It was a just a few follow up questions and I wanted to thank him for his help. Once I hit send, I got an even bigger surprise when it came back as undeliverable. It was the same email address he just emailed me from. I tired several times to send the email, and each time it came back as an invalid email address.  _What the hell is going on?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ellington and Leah are actually stepsisters. Ellington is black and Leah is white. I tried to hint at this, but I was not sure it it was really clear. 
> 
>  
> 
> Music  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LX6Vy7A_u0- Happy  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU - Blurred Lines


End file.
